College is full of new challenges and juggling schedules, and it's even tougher when balancing school with a job. Goal-setting can help you succeed at both.

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Feeling overwhelmed by massive exams, long papers, and intimidating professors — all the while trying to hold down a job to help pay the bills? You’re not alone. Many students can't afford to go to college unless they work.

Whether you work full-time and go to college part-time or vice versa, there's no doubt that you need to focus on balancing your responsibilities more than ever. Some simple time-management tips can help you succeed.

School Life: Create Your Personal Day Planner

"Many full-time students have the time to do their academic work, have a job (even two), and have some personal time," says Carl Thum, PhD, director of the Academic Skills Center at Dartmouth College. The challenge is to find out how to squeeze it all in, and that starts with a simple list of what you have to do and when.

Thum suggests creating a detailed schedule for each day, such as a grid, to see how your time can best be used. This needs to be an hour-by-hour schedule that shows all of your commitments, including classes, work hours, extracurricular practices, meetings, and anything else on your list. Be sure to include meals and exercise — both are very important and shouldn't be overlooked.

By charting all commitments on a grid, you can instantly see if you’re loading it with too many things. Working students may need to consider cutting back on the extracurricular activities, says Thum.

It's important to stay organized, keep up with your responsibilities, and stick to your schedule. And if there's not enough available time, you might have to trim back. The next step is to reorganize your grid in terms of your priorities. Once all of your goals and your schedule are laid out, rank your time spent and activities according to importance, says Thum. If grades are your most important goal, schedule time for studying and homework earlier in the day so that you don't put it off and run the risk of not getting to it.

When you have two huge priorities — schoolwork and a job — something might have to give. No one likes to make sacrifices, but sometimes it's the only way to satisfy your most important responsibilities.

"The challenge for many students is to set the priority and, in some cases, make decisions about what they can't do, at least for some period of time," notes Thum. "You can't do it all, in other words."

School Life: Tips to Reduce Stress

College students can easily become stressed from falling behind and becoming overwhelmed with schoolwork, a job, and even just adjusting to college life. If time management (or lack thereof) is what's causing your stress, get a handle on your time and your schedule to get back in control.

"Time management is stress management," says Thum. If you have stress related to being away from home and all the new changes in your life, then focus on tackling that problem as well. "Reach out to your resident advisor, upper classmates, the dean, or the counseling center," suggests Thum.

Here are some other tips to help manage stress while adjusting to college life:

Make time for exercise.

Keep in touch with friends and communicate frequently with roommates.

Allow time for relaxation — time that's completely free to do whatever you want.

Learn to say no to avoid being saddled with too many obligations.

Keep a diary or journal.

Get plenty of sleep, avoid junk food, and don't turn to alcohol or smoking.

Sure, managing college and a job may be a big challenge, but embrace it, and learn from your experiences. With a little planning and basic time-management strategies, you’ll soon learn to strike that school-work balance.

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